Dreams of Destiny: Overture
by Ledzepfan
Summary: The image of integrity and love, crumble upon the pedestal of truth. Fantasy mislays it’s grapple on time, as reality cons the loss of youth.


Disclaimer- The characters used in this fic are property of AIC and Pioneer. I am merely borrowing them for my own story. This story is written solely for the enjoyment of my readers as well as myself. I am not receiving any money for this.  
  
This is an AU fic.  
  
Dreams of Destiny  
Prologue- Dreams  
  
  
  
The multi-colored lights of the Christmas tree sparkled, casting a warm glow throughout the room. The streets held only a few stragglers making there way home to be with their families. Noboyuki Masaki turned his gaze from the window to his wife.  
  
Achika Masaki smiled contently as she peered down on the infant in her arms. The little baby reached out with his small pudgy hands, making contact with his mothers face. Achika puffed out her cheeks and widened her eyes as the baby touched her lips. The gesture was obviously to his liking as he gave her a toothless smile and began laughing.  
  
Noboyuki's heart swelled as he made his way over to his wife and son. He let out an amused chuckle, as the fingers that Achika had been stroking her child's face with became a chew toy. The infant was a little over three months old, and already he was teething  
  
"Now Tenchi, is that anyway to treat your mother?" he asked the infant. The child responded by eagerly chewing the teething ring that had taken the place of Achika's finger.   
  
"He's such a happy little boy," Achika stated as Noboyuki bent down and kissed Tenchi's small forehead. She lifted up the small cloth laying next to her on the other seat of the couch and wiped at the drool that now trailed down the baby's face. "Nobi, do you think you can take him? My arm's falling asleep."  
  
Noboyuki nodded his head as he bent down and carefully picked the infant up from the arm Achika just had cradled Tenchi in. Achika jumped up off the couch with youthful exuberance, showing the great energy that flowed through her. They were both young, but life had turned out very well for them.   
  
Throughout Noboyuki's high school career, he had been interested in Architecture. After their graduation, he had joined architecture firm and very quickly climbed up the corporate ladder. For such a young couple, they had a huge income. The company had also decided to give Noboyuki the expenses to build his own home as a bonus.   
  
Both of them had poured their hearts into the house. The project moved along at a good pace, and coinciding with the sixth month of Achika's pregnancy, they had moved into their dream home. Achika had parted with the country life she had lived with her father for a life in the suburbs with her husband.  
  
Her father Katsuhito Masaki had handled the situation as well as Achika had expected him to. The priest was not a man to show his emotions often but she had learned to pick up on what her father was feeling. And she had most definitely had noticed the tear trickle down his cheek as she set off for her own home.  
  
"Hold on, Let me take a picture," Achika chimed as she walked into the kitchen. "It isn't every day that your child has his first Christmas." She stuck her head into the doorway and gazed at the young architect. "And plus, I want to take a picture." Her head disappeared as she went back to her quest to find a camera.  
  
"There's one on top of the refrigerator," Noboyuki called out.   
  
"I know that," Achika replied as she walked back into the living room. "Though you should know. Your always taking pictures of everything leaving poor, little, old me out of all your fun." She clasped her hands together, the camera held firmly between them, and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.  
  
"Aren't you the one I'm taking the pictures of?"  
  
Achika held the camera up to her face, stepping forward, to get the perfect angle. "So? I still never get to take the pictures, and besides, we need a father-son Christmas picture."  
  
"Say Cheese."  
  
"Chee- What the hell?" Noboyuki yelled as the entire household began to shake. He grasped his son firmly, as he braced himself against the wall. "Achika!" he called out as the vibrations intensified.   
  
Achika slowly picked herself off the floor only to be thrown to it again as the shaking increased. "Noboyuki," she cried out as she crawled along the floor over to her husband. He had landed on his back, yet the baby was safe in his arms. Tenchi began to cry.  
  
As suddenly as they had started, the vibrations ceased. "Noboyuki, what's going on? Was that an earthquake?" Her husband wore a look of astonishment as she spoke to him. "Noboyuki?" She nudged him, yet he remained unresponsive.   
  
"Noboyuki, please, say something," Achika begged.   
  
"A-a-a-a-achika, look," he murmured as he pointed behind her. Achika gasped as she spun around. Outside of their house was a gigantic object, of which Achika had never seen. A red sphere was at the center of it while black spikes jutted out of the sides. The spikes almost looked as if they had grown out of the sphere.   
  
"What is that?" she asked.   
  
"I have no idea." The two stopped breathing as the object shrunk down and became no more than a speck looming over one of the houses across the street. With a loud crash, the front door to their beautiful home was torn off its hinges and landed on the floor.  
  
In it's place stood a figure, clothed in darkness. A red sword erupted from the figures hand as it entered the house. Noboyuki swore to himself as he realized that the power had gone out, leaving them in the darkness that they now found themselves in.   
  
"Die," a feminine voice hissed. Without faltering, Noboyuki stood up. He turned to his wife who picked herself up off the floor. "Take Tenchi and run."   
  
"What are you talking about?" Achika asked.   
  
Noboyuki carefully handed his bawling son over to his wife. "Go, get out of here." He grabbed a broom that had toppled over and held it in front of him as a staff.  
  
Swallowing nervously, Achika did as her husband had told her and ran as fast as she could into the kitchen and out the back door. She did her best to block out the screams of pain she heard as she ran out of her yard and down the street. 'Noboyuki,' she thought desperately. It had been his screams.  
  
She would have stopped her running and awaited her own death had she not been carrying the life in her arms that she did. For her son, she would run, even if it meant abandoning the one that she loved more than her life itself.   
  
Tears of remorse streamed down her face as she continued down the asphalt road, not thinking clear enough to determine her destination. She could go to her neighbors…. but no, that thing would tear through them as it had her husband.  
  
With that conclusion, she kept running. She dared a glance over her shoulder and nearly fell down when she did. That thing was flying after her, sword outstretched, and golden eyes glowing.   
  
She barely felt anything as she bumped into car that had been parked on the side of the street and spun around. The red sword completed its arc, tearing at her own arm but also at her baby's chest. 'Tenchi, NO!'   
  
As her back hit against the hood of the car, she lost her footing and landed on the ground. The weight of her pursuer impacted with her as the unknown figure crashed into Achika herself, tearing the precious load that she had been carrying from her hands.   
  
She did not notice the blue glow that emanated from her and cascaded upon her fallen assailant as she crawled over to her child. Her son, Tenchi, lay lifeless on the ground. Blood covered his body from the wound he had suffered on his chest and the scrape on his forehead he had received when he impacted with the ground.   
  
Achika threw up, her body convulsing with grief. Fury overtook her as she picked up her dead child. One of her arms was unresponsive but she did not care. She got to her feet and walked over to the source of her pain.   
  
Lying on the ground was a young woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. The spiky cyan hair that pooled down from her head was stained with blood, though Achika had suspicion that it wasn't just the woman's. With a heavy sigh, the cyan haired female floated into an upright position.   
  
All her fury was swept away as Achika stared into the woman's eyes. The woman was literally scared out of her mind. Achika nearly fell down when the woman approached her and took the baby. She lifted his limp body up so that his head was parallel to hers and leaned her head forward, softly kissing the dead child's lips. Achika gasped as a red glow surrounded both wrists and the neck of the woman. The red glow passed from the woman to Achika's child as the woman ended the kiss.  
  
She fell to the ground with exhaustion yet protectively held the baby. Before Achika knew what was happening, a purple swirling vortex appeared in front of the woman and Tenchi. The upper half of a childish female body reached out of the portal and took ahold of the child. Achika noted that the child had red hair that was similar to the collapsed woman on the ground.   
  
'What is going on?' "What are you doing with my baby? Just let him rest in peace," she cried out.   
  
Her heart leapt when a whimper followed by a couple long sobs sounded out from her child. "Don't worry, I promise he'll be taken care of," the girl said compassionately. Achika barely had a chance to nod before the infant and the red headed girl disappeared into the purple portal.  
  
Achika breathed out with relief. Her son was alive. She stared down at the cyan haired woman that lay unconscious in front of her. "Your not really evil, are you?" Achika asked the fallen women. The air became colder as the wind increased.  
  
"My dear Ryoko, it looks to me as if you have failed," a sinister voice laughed. Achika looked up towards the source of the masculine voice. "Goodbye Princess Achika." Achika barely had time to cry out before a green energy sword arced down upon the confused woman.  
  
Author's Note- Well I know that you are all probably reading this and saying what about Crown of Lies. Don't fret, sometimes Crown can be hard to write and I am using this fic as sort of aid to help me get through any writers block I get. Plus, I love the ideas I have for this one. I hope you all like this, and as always, C&C sent to Ledzepfan111@hotmail.com. And remember, I love C&C. 


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